EXCLUSIVE | Netflix's 'Dhoom Dhaam' actress Yami Gautam: 'There was a time when actresses used to hide their marriages and kids but now...'

The trailer of Yami Gautam Dhar and Pratik Gandhi’s much-anticipated film Dhoom Dhaam is out already and if it is anything to go by, the film promises to be a rollercoaster ride of laughter and emotions – another terrific role by the finest stars of this generation. It will stream on Netflix from February 14.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Yami and Pratik spoke about the world they have participated in in this caper, working with each other, being handcuffed through most of the film, and lots more.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Yami, you are working with two Pratiks in the film so how would you describe your chemistry with them?

(Laughs) I was thinking I was going to mess up with something. With Pratik G, it was absolutely fantastic. I’m taking a pause before saying something because I’m thinking about what I should say that you have not heard before. it. I mean, what a joy it was to work with him and everyone has their own journey. The more I learned about his journey, it’s not that we sat down once and discussed it. It’s only slowly bits by bits from something as small as boarding a train and aap chalti train se utarte kaise ho. And then I get to know he was working with Reliance and he’s also an engineer. The universe has its own way to reward you. And I think he’s got that.

I think he’s reached that point where he really deserves all the accolades and all the love that he gets because not just he’s a brilliant actor, but he’s a fantastic actor to work with, really secure, very patient. For me, I might be wearing something heavy, we are shooting at night, Baal ki bhi tension hai, but he would be so calm and patient that it was the perfect balance. And working with someone where we are handcuffed. There are a lot of other characters that might be coming and going, but we are there so that means both of us have to deliver otherwise it doesn’t work. That’s only possible if you’re thinking about your character.

With Prateik Babbar, I think it’s now Prateik P, he adopted his mother’s surname. My god, that was one of the first things I told Pratik that one of the reasons that inspired me to be an actor was Smita Patil. I’m a big fan of Sridevi and I’m a big fan of Smita Patil. What an actor! It’s our loss that we won’t be able to see her work today. She would have still been doing tremendous work and surprising her audience. I mean, she was, in true sense, an artist who could be a part of the commercial world, who could be part of your parallel cinema, who could do any part and add so much grace and dignity to it. And highly well-spoken. I told Pratik ‘You will always remind anyone who loved her of her.’ You have to watch him in a scene. He was spot on with what his character was supposed to do. It is so today, it is so correct and he’s brilliant in the scene.

Pratik, you have dabbled with almost every possible form of comedy. For example, in Mitron, what stood out were you one liners. Then in Madgaon Express, it was both physical and situational. But how would you describe the world of Dhoom Dhaam?

It’s a rom-com. It also has equal amounts of thrill, action, and suspense. My character is something which is there in all of us. Not every time you want to pick a fight. And when you have somebody who picks a fight every second moment, you actually want to salvage the situation. Veer is the guy who doesn’t want to fight unnecessarily. He just doesn’t want to fight, but now he’s in a situation where he’s handcuffed. And Koyal is someone who’s constantly picking fights and this is something he just doesn’t want to do. So I guess it is a very, very interesting space.

A lot of people do this in their real life as well but because this is storytelling, it’s just the exaggerated version of it. But this is the same emotion you are reacting to everyday. You have to react because your partner is reacting. You cannot deny the situation, but you have to react and control the situation. And add comedy to it. It’s fantastical but you also have to keep it realistic. When you watch this on Netflix, you’ll feel that this is true. You don’t see guns everyday but the reaction is something we see everyday. Darr, Bhagna, Atak Jaana, Phas Jaana, all these are regular reactions. So I guess that way it is a very interesting world and that’s why I’ve tried to create a different type of comedy here. And it’s a different genre altogether.

Yami, in these last six years, you have played almost every possible kind of character. Bala, A Thursday, Article 370. So when you go back home, do you tell yourself ‘Yes, I have finally got what I wanted.’?

Earlier, when I used to go back home, I was like ‘Khaane mein kya bana hai.’ Of course, now it’s all about my baby. Like, I’m waiting to go home. I don’t think I realize it as much as I do when I come and have such media interactions or the choice of films or the kind of roles that come my way. There’s no Eureka moment because it’s still work in progress. There’s so much more that needs to be done, there’s so much more work that needs to be explored. I want to still be surprised by, okay, what comes next my way. That let’s try and that cusp of nervous energy, that works for me and I would like to keep it that way. I’m very happy. I’m very blessed. I think we’ve come a long way as an industry.

There was a time when people would hide their marital status, let alone kids, especially from the actress’ point of view. And now it doesn’t matter. It should not matter, depending on the choices you’re making, that you are significant, regardless of your personal life. What matters is that this is what I bring to the screen, to the film, to the script. So it feels good and saalon ki mehnat, a lot of patience, resilience, a lot of lows, ups and downs, more of lows. Sometimes you feel ‘Am I at the right place?’ I love my work, I love performing and acting, but just the way to go about it, am I cut out for it. There are moments of doubt but something happens and you’re again held back. And you’re like ‘Hold on hold on, wait for some more time.’

And most importantly, don’t lose your originality. You don’t have to change yourself, your personal self or anything or anyone. Of course, you grow in life, maybe my perspective about certain things ten years back would have been different. five years back, but you evolve. But the core part of you, the simplicity that all of us somewhere, I think are in our hearts, it’s good to have that. That makes you unique as a person. So for me, that is a Eureka moment. I’m still getting pulled up for my styling at home.